What is Love?
by bloodandvanity
Summary: My first Gilmore Girls fanfic, When a Mariano is asked to make a presentation in class about What is Love? what will it be? one-shot definitely a Rory Jess fic


**AN: Right this is really sappy and not something that I would usually do, I mostly stick to the angsty crap, this is even my first Gilmore Girls fanfic. But it came to me and I felt like writing it down. I hope you don't hate it too much but oh well, here it goes….**

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned Gilmore Girls there would have been at least another season (I don't really like the ending) and Rory and Jess would have ended up together, they were perfect but that just my opinion and I obviously don't own Gilmore Girls so yeah….But I own a couple of the characters here….guess which ones.**

The class clapped half-heartedly having hardly listened to their classmate's presentation.

"Thank-you Jack that was really…insightful. Right, who's next?"

The teacher paused thoughtfully "What about you Mr. Mariano, care to enlighten the class on your thoughts on the subject?"

"Not really, no" the brooding boy at the back of the classroom answered. He hated the voice that teachers seamed to use while asking you a question on your "personal thoughts" like they actually gave a crap.

"Well I would like to hear them, so why don't you come up to the front and tell us everything?" the teacher persisted

"I'm perfectly comfortable here thanks." He continued, not looking up from his battered copy of the The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that he was reading under the table.

"If you don't come up here right now I will be forced to put you in detention and give you a failing grade Mr Mariano, let me remind you this speech is worth 20% of you final marks."

The dark haired boy sighed, marked his place in the classic he was blissfully lost in not moments before and made his way to the front of the class. He hadn't prepared anything but he knew exactly what he wanted to say, he'd known the moment he'd been given the assignment.

Once he was in place he smirked, looked at the teacher and asked "What was the question again?"

The teacher knew that he was just trying to antagonise her but she couldn't help the flare of irritation that he caused with that one question. He was a bright boy, extremely intelligent, but he refused to interact in class and constantly undermined the authority of those around him, if it were any other student she would say he was throwing away his future but she happened to know that he was a straight A student.

"As you well know the question is: What is love?"

"Right, I remember now, what is love? What is love?"

His voice was quiet yet strong, his usually brooding eyes now filled with pain.

"Love, love isn't any of that bull you get in Hallmark cards or sappy chick flicks, love is what I see everyday. Love is the way my dad can't let my mum out of his sight, even though he knows she's perfectly fine, he looks at her as though he can't believe that she's there and that she's gonna disappear any second. Love is the way my parents constantly bicker with each other yet never mean it. Love is how my mum can be completely freaking out about coffee and talking plain nonsense about some obscure pop culture reference and my dad will know exactly what to do or say to make her calm down or make everything better for her. Love is how they fall asleep together at least once a week after reading a book together and debating over the finer points of what the portrayed imagery means. If I can find anything like that then I will know that that is definitely love, although they hardly ever say it to each other they know, in every word, every touch, they love each other and can't live without each other."

The boy paused but the whole class knew that he wasn't finished. The usually quiet boy was finally venting.

"I asked my dad once, how he knew that mum loved him, and why he looked at her the way he did and he answered like this. I look at her the way I do because your mum amazes me, I don't know how she stuck with me all this time, I messed up, so many times, mostly when we first met but I've messed up since then too. I took off, twice…ok three times, forced her took make decisions she shouldn't have made, like nearly making her leave college, and generally I battered her heart but she always took me back, was always there to encourage me, to tell me she was proud of me, and later that she loved me. But I still sometimes get the feeling that one day I'm gonna run out of chances, that something is finally gonna tear me from her. So I treasure every second, every kiss, every breath because I don't deserve them, but I'm damn well gonna hold on to them while they last. And how do I know she loves me, because she's still here, she's a Gilmore Girl isn't she? When they don't want something they run, when they're unsure of anything they run and she hasn't run just yet so I know that she loves me. Plus I have you."

The whole speech the boy had been staring unseeingly at the opposite wall of the classroom but now his bright blue eyes scanned the faces of everyone in his scope.

"Love is exactly that, something shared between too people that can't be explained, something beautiful and pure, no matter how broken the people are. I know that love exists even though I may not be able to explain it. Love is what helps my dad drive mum to the hospital for every chemo session she has. Love keeps them both from breaking down like I know they want to and Love is what is keeping my mum alive. So there, that's my answer _I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge, myth is more potent than history, dreams are more powerful than facts, hope always triumphs over experience, laughter is the cure for grief and love is stronger than death."_

With that the boy walked to his desk collected his things and left the room without another word.

When he arrived home his mum and dad were in the living room, his father was typing away at his next book and his mother was lying on the couch reading her favourite book, Oliver Twist. As he entered the room they both looked up, they both said nothing, yet they wore an almost identical smirk, the only difference was that his mother raised her eyebrow. He returned their gazes with a shrug.

As he walked up to his room to blast The Clash and brood as usual he heard his parents talking and it made him smile.

"That boy's as bad as you when we were his age." Chuckled his mum

"You loved it" replied his dad, the smirk was probably still in place due to the smug sound to his voice

"Well yeah, but we can't have your doppelganger running around Stars Hollow, the townspeople wouldn't be able to survive it, Kirk already runs for the hills whenever he sees you." She quipped

"Maybe one day he'll run all the way back to the Mother Ship"

"Jess" she warned

"Rory" he mocked

Her only reply was to laugh.

"I love you Jess,"

"Love you too Rory,"

**So yeah that's it. It's only gonna be a one-shot and it's my first one-shot so I hope its OK.**

**Oh, the quote in italics is from Robert Fulghum an American author**

**Please Review I love them **

**R&R**

**xxx**


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